Floor and shop drains have been known and used for many years. A floor drain in its simplest form funnels liquids from a floor surface into a drain pipe. Typically floor drains have a grate attached to their top to allow liquid to flow but to prevent larger solid objects from entering the floor drain.
Drains found in restroom facilities, showers, kitchen floors and shop floors are used to drain liquids such as shower water or waste water. The problem with prior art drains is that they are often installed in floor surfaces that are neither level, flat, nor perpendicular to the drain pipe to which the drains must connect. Drains need to be at a proper height and level with the surfaces surrounding them in order to function properly. Drains which are not properly placed relative to surrounding surfaces also can pose a safety threat. In the prior art, it has been difficult and time-consuming to properly install level drains.
As mentioned, one problem associated with the construction of floor drains is the problem of being able to align the drain and grating with the portion of the floor around it. Adjusting mechanisms have not been available to accomplish this result without inordinate trouble and expense. Often, the floor drain does not conform precisely to and is not in alignment with the top of the floor. Even the adjustable floor drains which exist do not fully meet the needs of plumbing installation professionals.
One patent which illustrates an adjustable floor drain is U.S. Pat. No. 4,883,590 to Papp. The device designed by Papp is an adjustable floor drain having an outer cylindrically shaped body with threads on the inside thereof attached to the top of a drain pipe. A cylindrical member is disposed inside of the outer body so that concrete can be poured around the cylindrical member and the concrete will not enter the outer body. An inner cylindrically shaped body having threads on the exterior thereof is provided for mating with the inside threads on the outer body whereby the inner body can be threaded into the outer body and whereby the top thereof can be adjusted up or down to conform to the height of the finished floor. A ring is adapted to engage the top of the the inner body, and the ring has a partially spherical surface around the lower periphery thereof which contacts the top of the inner body, which also has a complementary shaped partial spherical surface thereon for providing a mating slidable joint between the ring and the inner body. A grate is disposed in a recess on the ring, and an optional basket strainer can be installed under the grate.
Consequently, there is a need for an improved floor drain apparatus which will easily and quickly allow for vertical and angular horizontal adjustment. Additionally, there is a need for an adjustable drain which is simple to use and which allows a plumbing installer to quickly and easily install a drain that is level with the surrounding surfaces.